That guy you see walking around downtown Minneapolis with a camera next week? It could be a two-time Oscar winner for cinematography.
Roger Deakins, who collaborated with Joel and Ethan Coen on the look of many of their films, including Fargo and No Place for Old Men, as well as 1917 and Blade Runner 2049 (both of which won him Oscars ) and husband/collaborator James Deakins will be part of the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, which runs through April 25 at the Main Cinema.
In addition to the anticipated time to secretly shoot some images, the Deakinses will be part of three public events: a “conversation” with West St. Paul-based photographer Wilson Webb on April 23, as well as a “Byways” book signing and a screening of “Fargo ” with a Q&A session, both on April 24. “Fargo” earned Roger his second of 16 Oscar nominations. The talk and screening are sold out, but MSPIFF can make more seats available.
In case you can’t make it to the events, we’ve asked a few questions you might have:
Q: What do you remember from filming Fargo in Minnesota in the late mild winter of 1995?
James: It was cold!
accepted: I remember it didn’t snow much that winter. It was very disappointing! We had to continue north and at one point I remember wondering if we had crossed into Canada. But I also remember it being one of the funnest shoots we ever had.
Q: How do you decide if you want to make a film?
James: It’s about the script and the script and the script.
Accepted: It helps if you know the director. If it’s Denis Villeneuve [for whom Deakins shot “Prisoners” and “2049″], you know what his decision will be. But I’m interested in stories about people. I love taking pictures of the ocean or whatever, but that’s not enough for me. This is not a story. It’s not something you want to be the operator of.
Q: Roger is the credited cinematographer on the films, but you’ve been collaborating for many, many years. How does this happen?
James: We read the script and talk about it, what Roger thinks about the lighting. I’m going through the workflow with the lab. I talk to VFX people a lot because often a cameraman wants to shoot one way, but the VFX editor is using a blue screen and wants to shoot another way. So we find a compromise that works for everyone. I’m taking a lot of the logistical problems off Roger so he can focus on what he’s shooting while I talk to production about the crane we need next week.
Accepted: The thing about cinematography is that it’s a mix between a creative approach and a technical approach. You can’t have one without the other.
Q: So is your collaboration within the larger, ultra-collaborative world of filmmaking?
James: It’s not just what we do or the actor or the director does. That’s what the third assistant does. These are the extras. This is everyone without whom we could not make a film, everyone puts in their best and does their specific job.
Q: Is that something people are curious about when you do Q-and-As?
James: They ask us how we work together. They ask us about specific shots in movies. We get questions from people making their way through how to deal with specific situations. They ask us our favorite movies.
Q: What are some of your favorites that you’ve worked on?
accepted: The next one.
James: It’s really like asking who your favorite child is.
accepted: Although we don’t have kids so…
Q: If you don’t name any favorite films you’ve worked on, do you have any favorites from other filmmakers?
accepted: Definitely. I grew up loving movies, so I followed Kazuo Miyagawa, who was shooting for Kurosawa in Japan and for Kenji Mizoguchi. I love Conrad Hall [“American Beauty”] here in America [Deakins is from England]. We actually got to know Connie well.
Q: Do your movies usually turn out the way you expect them to?
accepted: Some turn out to be better than you imagine. When you’re working on something, there’s always that kind of compromise. As soon as you pick up a camera, you’ve made compromises with time, schedules, money, whatever. But after a few years, a film can look better than you imagined.
James: When we see the first cut, all we see is: We didn’t get this frame, or we had to cut this frame. So we are not so happy. But five years later, we happen to see a bit on TV and say, “That’s not so bad.”
Q: If we want to see the image as it should have been seen in a film, where in the theater should we sit?
accepted: Right in the middle of the hall.
James: In Imax, there are only about five seats in the entire theater that are optimal. It may vary by theater, but I know this because we were working on an Imax print and they made sure that’s where I sat.
If you go
An industrial evening with Roger and James Deakins
When: 6pm April 23, Machine Shop, 300 SE 2nd St., Mpls. For information, visit mspfilm.org.
“Byways” book signing with Roger and James Deakins
When: 4:30 pm April 24, Pracna, 117 SE. Main St., Mpls. For tickets, visit mspfilm.org.
Fargo screening and conversation with Roger and James Deakins
When: 7pm April 24, Main Cinema, 115 SE. Main St., Mpls. For information, visit mspfilm.org.
